June Book Reviews

Weave a way through this selection of wonderful words released during the month of June

LAND

By Maggie O'Farrell

On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son Liam are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.

Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid-19th century, Land, the new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope.

Published June 2nd by Headline

SOMEONE MUST KNOW

by Dave Grimstead

Every two minutes, someone is reported missing in the UK. Most return, but some do not. This book is about those who stay missing. Dave Grimstead, a retired detective inspector, has built Locate International - a remarkable and eclectic team of passionate volunteers, oceanographers and genealogists, forensic linguists and vintage clothes experts, students and retirees - all united by a desire to restore to the missing their names, faces and humanity.

And to do that, they must follow the clues wherever they lead. Someone Must Know explores the reality of searching for those who are lost.

Published June 11th by Vintage

STRIKE

by Mitch Johnson

Owen is closer than ever to achieving his dream: becoming a professional footballer. All he has to do is stay focused. No distractions. Just football. Yet when a hidden note tucked inside his new boots reveals a cry for help from the factory workers who made them, Owen discovers the beautiful game might be hiding some ugly secrets. Suddenly, chasing his dream doesn’t feel so important. It’s time to decide which path he really wants to take.

Strike is an action-packed football book about chasing your dreams and standing up for what you believe in.

Published June 4th by Usborne Publishing

DEATH

by Noir by Olly Smith

Barclay Flint is the eccentric proprietor of The Bottle Bank wine shop in Lewes, the small Sussex town renowned for its annual Bonfire Night festival. Barclay can taste a kaleidoscopic universe in a single glass of wine - and will delight in luring you to share in its charms.

Yet when his friend, struggling regenerative vineyard owner Victor Crawshaw, goes missing, Barclay falls under suspicion and must deploy his wine detection skills to crack the case and clear his name. As the clock ticks down to Bonfire Night’s epic festival of flames, the fireworks might not be the only things that start exploding...

Death by Noir is the first of The Bottle Bank Mysteries, a series of charming and warm-hearted crime novels by beloved UK wine expert, Olly Smith.

Published June 18th by John Murray Press